The Packers are unwatchable without Aaron Rodgers

Either the Green Bay Packers’ coaches don’t trust quarterback Brett Hundley to throw anything past the line of scrimmage, or he’s incapable of pulling the trigger on throws downfield. It has to be one of those.

Whatever. It doesn’t matter much anymore. We can forget about the Packers the rest of the season. You were correct if you lost all faith in the Packers being a factor after Aaron Rodgers’ injury. If you gave up after one Hundley start, that was smart. There should be nobody left with any hope for the Packers after a brutal 30-17 loss to the Detroit Lions on Monday night. If you sat through the entire Monday night game watching Hundley check it down every single play, you deserve an award. When you see that final score, know that one of the Packers’ touchdowns was an utterly meaningless one on the final play of the game.

The Packers are unwatchable without Rodgers. That stinks for the NFL as a whole, because they’re one of the most interesting teams in the league with Rodgers. We saw the value Deshaun Watson brought to the Houston Texans when they played without him on Sunday. But nobody is more valuable than Rodgers. He covers up every flaw. That might include a flawed Packers coaching staff, too. Because Green Bay has no real plan for success with Hundley.

The Packers threw the ball 18 times in the first half, and 13 were 5 or fewer yards downfield according to Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin. Eight of those passes were behind the line of scrimmage. When ESPN showed Hundley’s chart after his first eight passes, only one pass had gone more than a yard beyond the line. That one “long” throw was less than 10 yards downfield. The Packers and Hundley had no desire to pass the ball downfield, and good luck winning that way. The only time the Packers got anything going downfield was in the no-huddle offense as they were desperately trying to catch up. Maybe Green Bay needs to go with that full time.

The Packers are 4-4, and it seems much worse than that. Green Bay was 4-1 when Rodgers broke his collarbone. They lost to the Vikings after that injury, then lost in brutal offensive performances in Hundley’s first two starts. Both of those games came at home, and it’s not like it’s going to get much better. A team with Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb and Davante Adams has virtually no passing game. It’s a brutal turn of events.

The Packers’ season is done. Their Week 12 Sunday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which at one point looked like a marquee event, will assuredly (and hopefully) be flexed to a different game. We still are stuck with the Packers once more in prime time, on Saturday Dec. 23. The rest of the remaining Packers games, you’ll be able to ignore. That’s good, because without Aaron Rodgers they’re sadly one of the dullest teams in the NFL.

Green Bay Packers’ Brett Hundley struggled again in his second career start. (AP)